31 Nights Tsuzuki & Hisoka
by QG
Summary: TsuHi giftfics of varying length, with prompts from the 31nights fanfic challenge. A healthy mixture of fluff and angst within. Apologies for the delay! I forgot to upload the rest of them. Chapters 6 & 7 up, and with that the end of the 31 nights. Thanks for reading.
1. Chapter 1

**Title: Gentle**

**Characters/Pairing: Tsuzuki/Hisoka**

**Prompt: Bed**

Tsuzuki loved to watch Hisoka sleep. The first night of their partnership, Hisoka's angelic sleeping face had melted his heart a little, made him less inclined to hate that rude, explosive, disrespectful brat. Inexplicably, he'd felt the sudden urge to kiss him. And he felt that urge every time since then. There was something helplessly adorable about Hisoka when you couldn't see his maturity or his burning temper or his caustic tongue. It drew forth a protective streak in Tsuzuki surprising even to him.

And he couldn't _help_ himself. Hisoka just looked too cute when he was sleeping. Curled up on his side in their bed -_ their_ bed! - pale brown hair soft against his cheekbones, his finely-boned face looking completely relaxed. Hisoka carried too much tension in his face - his default expression was a contemplative frown - and if ever he dropped his guard, he compensated for it with discomforted blushes and even darker frowns than usual. So Tsuzuki savored those moments of peace Hisoka allowed him to see, and when it got to be too much, he indulged his urges.

Hisoka gave a contented little sigh and it was too much. Tsuzuki leaned down and pressed his lips gently to Hisoka's soft pink ones. Brilliant green eyes opened halfway and blinked drowsily. Tsuzuki smiled, his lips hovering close to Hisoka's.

"You looked so cute I couldn't resist," he admitted sheepishly. Hisoka blushed, clearly offended that he could look cute when he couldn't help it. But he too was feeling indulgent, it seemed, his thumb brushing Tsuzuki's cheek as he returned the kiss; Tsuzuki could taste the smile on his lips.

"Idiot."

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**Title: Running Water**

**Characters/Pairing: Tsuzuki/Hisoka**

**Prompt: Shower**

Hisoka always took multiple showers a day. His body didn't regulate its internal temperature well, so it was showers in summer to cool off and showers in winter to warm up.

Of course, some nights he needed showers for entirely different reasons. He would wake up and just couldn't get the sickly smell of cherry blossoms and Muraki's cologne _off_, and it was those nights he would sit huddled on the bathroom floor, long after the water had grown tepid, shivering as he hugged his knees.

The first time Tsuzuki discovered him like that, he had to fight the overwhelming urge to lash out, scream and throw the wash basin and cover his thin body of awkward limbs and scar tissue in shame. Instead, Hisoka rolled his eyes - had to do _something_ with them or he'd start crying, he knew it - and Tsuzuki came forward hesitantly, ready to bolt and leave Hisoka to himself at a moment's notice. The layer of water over the bathroom floor began darkening Tsuzuki's socks and the cuffs of his pants.

"Your suit-" Hisoka pointed out helplessly. His voice broke and he quickly ducked his head so Tsuzuki couldn't see the tears slip down his cheeks.

Wordlessly, Tsuzuki sat down beside him, exhaling heavily and holding his arms open in quiet invitation. His emotions were carefully guarded, reserved and non-judgmental, but Hisoka felt hints of sorrow and protectiveness slip through. Hisoka all but collapsed into Tsuzuki's arms, muffling his cries in Tsuzuki's soaked chest and clinging to his partner for warmth and comfort.

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**Title: Slightly Unexpected**

**Characters/Pairing: Tsuzuki/Hisoka, Tatsumi**

**Prompt: Couch**

Tsuzuki and Hisoka had a favorite couch in the office. It was large and warm brown leather, and so old it was considered unsightly by most of the people in the office.

Tsuzuki liked how soft the couch was. It smelled old and comfortable, hundreds of scents absorbed by the leather, and the countless bodies beating the leather into shape. Tsuzuki always slept soundly on that couch.

Hisoka liked how big the couch was. He could curl up completely on it with room to spare; the dark brown leather offered him respite whenever he had a headache, the lazy emotional residue buried in the folds of the leather old and soothing. Every time he lay down, he felt his stress immediately dissipate.

Tsuzuki had asked Tatsumi once how much it would cost to take the couch home, and Tatsumi had given him a look that expressed the utmost incredulity for _why_ one would want to take furniture out of the office, and _that_ particular piece of furniture especially. But then Watari had blown something up, so Tatsumi had distractedly snapped that Juuouchou was _not_ a furniture store, and that had been that.

Like many things in their partnership, they hadn't realized their mutual love for the couch for a long while. Whenever they worked late into the night on assignments or paperwork, they would inevitably take shifts, each sleeping on the couch while the other worked, completely unaware of their shared affection for the couch. It was one night, when Hisoka was frustrated and irritable because the research was going nowhere, and he had a headache, and the office was too _dark_ when it was just the two of them working at 3 a.m.

So he got up from his desk to look for his partner, and to his surprise found Tsuzuki in the break room, sleeping on Hisoka's couch, a contented grin on his face. Hisoka laughed very softly to himself at that. Now that he thought about it, it was in no way surprising that they would be drawn to the same couch, the same haven, the same comfort. He and Tsuzuki were two polar opposites by all appearances, but their hearts had beat in synch once. Sometimes it was easy to be irritated and standoffish and nasty to his partner. Sometimes it was very, very hard.

Hisoka gingerly slipped onto the couch and lay down, thankful for how accommodating it was for two people. Tsuzuki, as if noticing Hisoka's presence in his sleep, draped an arm around the boy and snuggled closer to him; sleepiness permeated Hisoka's body, and he promised he would just close his eyes for a moment before getting Tsuzuki up and back to work.

The next morning, Tatsumi came into the break room to get his coffee, and discretely backed out of the room, shutting the door behind him with a delicate cough. He walked briskly back to his desk to write Tsuzuki's new salary, less the cost of one worn-out couch.

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**Title: Hot Chocolate**

**Characters/Pairing: Tsuzuki/Hisoka**

**Prompt: Floor**

Warm smells, fishy, with just a hint of sweetness, simmered in the cozy apartment, perking up Tsuzuki's keen sense of smell. Hisoka was making a stew. Tsuzuki closed his eyes and sniffed the air, as still as a bloodhound. He had just put in the potatoes. Sniff sniff. About twenty more minutes to go. Despite the fact that anything he personally created tasted like dirt, Tsuzuki's nose had no equal when it came to food. Tsuzuki allowed himself one last deep inhale of the savory smells of the stew, and settled back into the couch, paging idly through a magazine.

He glanced over the back of the couch, towards the kitchen. Hisoka was so quiet when he cooked, almost meditatively so. Twenty minutes. Tsuzuki tossed the magazine on the coffee table. Maybe he could sneak a taste from the pot...

He rose and crept into the kitchen. Hisoka was stirring the stew with slow, rhythmic motions, a dark green apron tied around his waist. Tsuzuki revealed his teeth in a mischievious grin to Hisoka's back and snuck up behind his partner, sliding his hands around Hisoka's small waist and pulling Hisoka back against him.

"What are you doing?" Hisoka asked with a comfortably mimicked annoyance.

"Seeing if you need any help." Tsuzuki's reply exuded innocence, so much so that Hisoka gave him a sidelong glance of rich green eyes.

"Mmhmmmm."

Tsuzuki peered over his shoulder to gaze longingly at the stew. "Can I have a taste?" he asked, nuzzling his partner's cheek affectionately. He started swaying slowly back and forth, pulling Hisoka along with him.

"No," Hisoka teased, taking a sip of the stew himself.

"You're _horrible_," Tsuzuki smiled. His steps were getting wider and wider, and he gracefully spun Hisoka, spoon still in hand, around to face him. One hand still on Hisoka's waist, Tsuzuki took the boy's free hand and swept him across the kitchen floor in a waltz.

"Oh no..."

"Hisoka, I never knew! How you could so heartlessly deny me stew!" Tsuzuki crooned, giving Hisoka a turn. Hisoka, for his part, was trying not to smile, and only gave Tsuzuki two eyerolls, a new record for him. Every time he tolerated Tsuzuki's spontaneous playfulness, Tsuzuki's chest burned pleasantly, even if he was far from making Hisoka sing along.

"Ohhhh, whatever shall I do? I'll shower all my love, not upon the stew... but on youuuuuu!" Tsuzuki dipped Hisoka as he reached the grand finale; laughter bubbled up between them, easy, honest, and uncontrollable, filling the empty spaces of the apartment.

Outside the snow fell; a silent winter night.

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**Title: Peaceful**

**Characters/Pairing: Tsuzuki/Hisoka**

**Prompt: Hearth**

Hisoka loved to read in front of the fire on long, dark nights without any assignments. The warmth and intermittent snap of burning wood soothed his frazzled nerves after hours of endless paperwork and buzzing office activity and convincing Tsuzuki to do his fair share.

But recently he found himself enjoying small interruptions of this routine. Hisoka found new serenity in the warm hands on the side of his face; letting his book slip from his lap, he found himself in gentle kisses and violet eyes that reflected the oranges and reds of the blazing fire.


	2. Chapter 2

**Title: Overcoming**

**Characters/Pairing: Tsuzuki/Hisoka**

**Prompt: "Love is giving someone the ability to destroy you and trusting them not to."**

It would all be very simple. Tsuzuki was at least twice Hisoka's weight, his arms strong and sinewy and capable. Hisoka didn't build muscle well, either, so it would have been child's play for Tsuzuki to pin him down, force him any way he pleased. Hisoka didn't _like_ to think about it, but he did; when they first started out together, if Tsuzuki touched him suddenly, Hisoka would be backed against the wall, desperately trying to stifle his terrified gasps.

The first time they slept in the same bed was one freezing winter night when the second-rate hotel's heater broke. They had shivered together out of necessity; there was nothing romantic about it, but Hisoka still hadn't slept, his heart leaping to his throat every time Tsuzuki shifted in his sleep.

They had made incredible progress since then; Hisoka didn't start every time Tsuzuki touched him without warning, and they'd shared many sweet, chaste kisses. There came a time when Hisoka, blushing and muttering, asked a bemused (and then ecstatic) Tsuzuki to move in with him.

Their nighttime rituals were always the same. Hisoka would sometimes take a panicked breath, and Tsuzuki would cuddle him, kissing him indelicately on the ear in such a playful, innocent, irritatingly _loud_ manner that Hisoka couldn't help but fall in love with him all over again. Thin, rigid muscles would unclench, and Hisoka would rest his cheek against Tsuzuki's chest, enveloped in, but never overwhelmed by, the warmth and fidgety joyfulness of Tsuzuki unwinding after a long day.

As a child, Hisoka was always alone, with everything cold and quiet and distant. Tsuzuki never gave him a chance to be afraid, once they were settled in bed; he would chatter endlessly about food or gardening or the antics of their co-workers, his voice slurring into mumbles as he grew drowsy. Hisoka always fell asleep first, though, Tsuzuki's pleasant baritone soothing his frayed nerves, his happy babblings comforting Hisoka like a lullaby. And if Hisoka awoke in the middle of the night, trembling and sobbing, he always found solace in strong, gentle arms and kind violet eyes.

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**Title: Together**

**Characters/Pairing: Tsuzuki/Hisoka**

**Prompt: "Love is not staring deeply into each other's eyes, it is staring outward in the same direction."**

Hisoka wasn't afraid. Muraki stood before him, a huge dragon-like demon ready to obey his commands at the snap of his fingers. The building was crumbling around him, hunks of broken wall crashing into the ground without warning, threatening to crush him. A pool of his partner's blood spread out dark and red at his feet, soaking the cuffs of his jeans. But for all of that, Hisoka wasn't afraid.

Moments before he had almost lost his voice in panic, clutching to the tattered remains of Tsuzuki's trenchcoat as his partner lay bleeding in his lap. He had _voluntarily_ opened his mind and heart to Tsuzuki in what had probably been the rashest decision he'd ever made. He hadn't even known if the effort involved would kill him or not.

The moment he broke his own shields, he was plunged into feeling - the maddening burn of righteous anger in his chest, the discordant hard and soft sensations of protective determination, pain as deep and dark as night, grief so acute he thought he would go insane - everything rang so clearly of Tsuzuki that he momentarily forgot who he was. But then he felt so completely aware of himself, of his own existence, that he wondered how he could ever have tried to push away someone who could make him feel simultaneously so exposed and so safe.

Hisoka didn't remember standing, but he was, unconsciously going through the motions of summoning one of Tsuzuki's shikigami, led carefully by Tsuzuki's mind and will. He could physically feel Tsuzuki behind him, leaning heavily on one shoulder, Tsuzuki's labored breath against his neck. Muraki stood before them, his self-confident smirk cast aside for a look of searing hatred.

Hisoka was not afraid.

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**Title: Too Much**

**Characters/Pairing: Tsuzuki/Hisoka**

**Prompt: "Love doesn't make the world go 'round. Love is what makes the ride worthwhile."**

Tsuzuki was tired. Only a fraction of it was an aftereffect of last night's binge drinking, the damage he uncaringly caused himself by throwing back glass after glass of cheap liquor. The past few cases hadn't been easy. Death and blood and tears and death and fear and hurt and death and death and _death_. It was way past time to get up - work had started an hour ago - and not even the usual distractions of his warm bed or the allure of pastries made him savor his time at home. He was in bed because he didn't have the strength to move, to drag himself into another day of fake smiles and self-loathing caught in the back of his throat. He didn't want to be cheerful, clueless Tsuzuki, and he didn't want to be serious, loyal Tsuzuki and he didn't want to be _Tsuzuki_. When the phone rang, he felt the throb of a headache, and tears slid in curves down his face.

About half an hour later, Hisoka broke into his apartment and into his bedroom, his perpetually youthful face flushed from the cold air outside and his clothes smelling like coffee and copy ink. Tsuzuki glanced at him, and blinked slowly, wearily shifting his gaze to stare unseeing out the window. Hisoka shuffled out of his worn tennis shoes, with the backs crunched down, unzipped his jacket to reveal a much leaner, smaller body than was presented with the bulky coat. He slid into the bed with an air of freshness that disturbed Tsuzuki's stale, held-breath existence. He held Tsuzuki's hand with thin, cold fingers, kissed his forehead, nestled Tsuzuki's head in his lap. Hisoka always professed to being bad with words and even worse at touching, but he knew this pattern, intimately, differently, patiently.

"Was Tatsumi mad at me?"

"No."

Hisoka saved Tsuzuki, just as he had saved him innumerable times before. Though, each time it happened, Tsuzuki relived his surprise and awe at having his sins soothed by the love of an equally shredded soul.

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**Title: Protection**

**Characters/Pairing: Tsuzuki/Hisoka**

**Prompt: "Love is much like a wild rose, beautiful and calm, but willing to draw blood in its defense."**

The demon was gigantic, bigger even than Saagatanasu, Hisoka thought, glaring up at it with more than a little trepidation. Dammit. At times like these he wished he weren't so small. Or that Tsuzuki would hurry up with the barrier and- _No_. They were a team. And with what happened in Kyoto, Hisoka didn't think Tsuzuki was ready to go on the offensive. He took a breath and clutched the fuda harder. He could do this.

"Shinigami?" the demon growled, its voice like oil coating Hisoka's skin. "Why, you're a child." It grinned, opening a jagged, lipless mouth wide.

"Shut up!" Hisoka snarled, infusing the fuda with energy. "Ohm-"

But he was cut off as a giant skeletal hand seized him, clutching his small, wriggling body as though it were a toy. The demon laughed throatily.

"Enma sends this tiny little thing to challenge me?"

_Dammit!_ With his power, there was still nothing he could do...

"Hisoka!"

Tsuzuki burst into the room and froze. Hisoka could feel Tsuzuki's steadily mounting fear as he stared up at him, violet eyes wide. Hisoka cursed his own weakness. Tsuzuki was in too fragile a state of mind. But if he broke down now...

"T-Tsuzuki! You can do it! Don't worry about-"

"Silence, brat," the demon hissed and squeezed. Hisoka screamed, his face ashen as he distantly heard his bones crunch.

"Hisoka, Hisoka!"

The demon started to laugh, and Tsuzuki bowed his head, trembling. Hisoka panicked, desperate to break Tsuzuki out of his terror, to lend him any remaining strength he had left.

"T-Tsuzu...ki!" Hisoka gasped, his vision darkening.

Tsuzuki looked up, and Hisoka's eyes widened in surprise - Tsuzuki looked angrier than Hisoka had ever seen him.

"_Byakko_."

The brilliant white tiger roared from Tsuzuki's hands, taking the demon down in one violent flurry of teeth and claws, shredding it before it had time to react. Its arm fell apart from the carnage, Hisoka still trapped inside the cage of bony fingers.

With shaking hands, Tsuzuki pried open the demon's lifeless fingers, freeing Hisoka. He gently brushed Hisoka's bangs out of his eyes.

"Are you okay?" he asked softly, his eyes kind and remorseful.

Hisoka gave him a weak smile. "I've lived through worse."

"Don't move," Tsuzuki ordered. He slipped his arms tenderly underneath Hisoka's injured body and lifted him up, cradling him to his chest. He bit his lip, taking in the extent of the damage done to his young partner. "It's all my-"

"It's _not_ your fault," Hisoka cut off Tsuzuki's painful whisper, looking him firmly in the eyes. He hurriedly changed the subject before Tsuzuki could protest. "I've never seen you that angry before."

"I've never seen you that hurt before."

An awkward silence passed. Tsuzuki began walking back out into the night, holding Hisoka delicately to keep from aggravating his injuries. Finally Hisoka said in a quiet voice, "Thanks... for saving me."

Tsuzuki pressed a feather-light kiss to Hisoka's forehead.

"You too."

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**Title: Playthings**

**Characters/Pairing: Tsuzuki/Hisoka**

**Prompt: "Love is being stupid together."**

Even when he was a child, Hisoka had never seen much point in toys, preferring at a young age to immerse himself in books. Tsuzuki, as in most things, was completely the opposite. He _loved_ toys. Little trinkets littered his desk, and he came home with a new one almost every day. It seemed painfully childish to Hisoka, all those saccharine creatures smiling hollowly at him. Tsuzuki's apartment was full of them, mostly stuffed animals piled high on chairs. But Hisoka supposed they were a comfort, like Tsuzuki's sweets. So he put up with them, even secretly liked one or two.

One day, they were on Earth, looking for lunch after a long morning spent getting doors slammed in their faces as they tried to investigate a case. Tsuzuki plodded along behind Hisoka, getting distracted suddenly by a warmly lit store and stopping to gaze in the window.

"Hey, Tsuzuki." Hisoka sighed. It was impossible to get _anything_ done with that man.

"Hisokaaaaa," Tsuzuki whined, "can we go in? Please?"

"Tsuzuki, what about-"

Tsuzuki's lower lip trembled. Hisoka sighed again.

"Ten minutes."

Tsuzuki bounced in with a squeal of joy and Hisoka followed more sedately after. The first thing he saw was a doll collection that made him strongly question his resolve. Eerie, glassy eyes stared lifelessly at him from display cases - Hisoka quickly passed them by and felt the sickening sensation in the pit of his stomach slowly diminish. Teddy bears and other various animals smiled unrealistically from the shelves. There were little musical instruments and dollhouse furniture, music boxes, and a device that projected an image of the night sky. But where had Tsuzuki gone off to...?

Thwap!

He shouldn't have asked.

A suction cup dart landed right in the middle of Hisoka's forehead. Tsuzuki ducked his head, trying his best to look sheepish and apologetic, but barely able to contain his laughter.

"Oops... s-sorry, Hi-hiso-kahahahahhaha!"

"..."

"Hahaha...heheh...heh..."

"... You're a _dead_ man," Hisoka seethed, grabbing the nearest dart gun and putting his good aim to use.

"Ack!!"

After five minutes of good natured roughhousing, Tsuzuki and Hisoka were asked in a very strained polite way to please take their business elsewhere. Hisoka walked ahead of Tsuzuki, his entire face red. Tsuzuki was amused by the whole mess, and ended up buying the dart guns, a fact that Hisoka hadn't overlooked. Despite his mortification at being asked to leave a store, just for an instant the thought crossed his mind that those dart guns would really alleviate the boredom of office work at Juuouchou.


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: Thank you everyone for the lovely reviews. I didn't expect to get so many people watching this story and commenting on it. Thanks so much. This story is a little belated for the holiday, but I hope still enjoyable. I made it a little longer, since it's only one story as opposed to five (this way I can divide the rest of the prompts evenly). I feel strangely dissatisfied with this, so I would appreciate any constructive criticism. Thanks for reading!

**Title: Dear Cacao**

**Characters/Pairing: Tsuzuki/Hisoka, Saya, Yuma**

**Prompt: Confession (Writer's Choice)**

It was the day before Valentine's Day and Hisoka was troubled. He had never experienced the ins and outs of a Japanese company back when he was alive, so he had never learned the proper protocol when it came to obligation, in this case, chocolate. Was he supposed to give chocolate to Konoe-kachou or everyone in the office? Was he supposed to even give _anyone_ chocolate? The last thing he wanted to do was make a rookie faux pas and be the embarrassment of the office for the day. As such, he had been forced to look for advice from his co-workers, hoping the answer would be that no one celebrated Valentine's Day in the office.

Unfortunately, the first people to broach the subject were Saya and Yuma.

"Hisoka-kun," Yuma lilted the moment Tsuzuki had left the office on a pastry run. "Are you all set in your plans for tomorrow?"

"What?" Hisoka asked with a frown.

"Valentine's Day, Hisoka-san. The loveliest day of the year! Surely you haven't forgotten?" said Saya, gravely concerned.

"So what?" Hisoka covered any curiosity he felt with typical grumpiness. He didn't want those two especially to know he had no experience in these sorts of matters.

"What? Hisoka-kun, you're not doing anything on Valentine's Day?!" Yuma exclaimed, pushing her face close to his.

"Why should I?" he responded curtly, blushing at her invasion of his personal space.

"Well, it's just... this is your first year..." Saya pointed out, touching her hand to her cheek.

"How does that matter?"

"It matters a ton!" Yuma held her finger in front of Hisoka's face. "You have to give thanks to your partner for putting up with you this year! And by thanks we mean cho-co-late!"

"That's stupid."

"But it's Juuou-chou tradition," Saya said, looking crestfallen.

"That's right! Everyone will think you don't care that Tsuzuki helped you out when you were learning the basics!"

As much as he hated to admit it, the last thing he wanted to do was look ungrateful towards Tsuzuki. Tsuzuki had literally saved his life dozens of times in the short time they'd known each other, and he had to at least give him thanks for that. And then that last big case… Hisoka had been thinking a lot about what had happened on board the Queen Camellia, and he really owed it to Tsuzuki for helping him get back to work afterwards.

Eventually Saya and Yuma's prodding paid off and they convinced Hisoka to purchase some chocolates, assuring him that he'd only have to do it this one year. Hisoka was inwardly relieved that he didn't have to bother with figuring out office politics on his own, even if the help _did_ come from an unwelcome source. As long as they didn't figure out Hisoka had been worrying about it, he didn't care.

But, as can be expected in the aftermath of a conversation with Saya and Yuma, the subject of Valentine's Day chocolate had been exhausted for Hisoka, and he couldn't bring himself to ask anyone else about it.

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That night Hisoka tidily laid out some red ribbon and simple, white wrapping paper, having worried that the clerk would have asked embarrassing questions had he gotten the chocolate wrapped in the store. Next to the paper on the table was the black box filled with chocolate for Tsuzuki.

Hisoka stared hard at the innocent box of truffles. Was it too big? Tsuzuki _was_ the most senior employee of Juuou-chou (excluding Konoe-kachou), after all. Didn't that give him a right to a lot of chocolate? _Obligation_ chocolate, Hisoka reminded himself. Nothing more than that.

It didn't matter that Tsuzuki had a sweet tooth, and a penchant for raspberry truffles. It didn't matter that said truffles cost seven hundred yen more than Hisoka was willing to spend. It didn't matter that the image of Tsuzuki opening the chocolates and savoring each one had been on loop in Hisoka's mind all day.

It was just obligation.

Tsuzuki had helped him out so much already that year. Nagasaki, the cursed violin, the Queen Camellia, and countless other cases… it seemed that all Tsuzuki was doing was saving Hisoka.

"_Because you're my partner."_

He was obliged to do it, Hisoka told himself, shaking off the blush that was creeping up his face.

Before he could have the chance to think about it too much, Hisoka distracted himself by wrapping the truffles. So the question now was, how would he give it to Tsuzuki? Leave it on his desk? Hand it to him in person?

Ugh. Any way he looked at it, he felt like a teenage girl about to confess her love to her upperclassman.

Hisoka spent a sleepless night worrying over the fate of the little box.

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Hisoka came into work the next day clutching the box of chocolates tightly. He was going to do it. It wasn't not like he was going to be romantic about it or anything. Just give it to Tsuzuki and get it over with.

As soon as Tsuzuki stumbled into the office (an hour and fourteen minutes late by Tatsumi's clock) and plopped himself down at his desk, Hisoka shoved the present wordlessly in his face. Tsuzuki blinked, taken aback, and broke into a grin.

"For me? Thank you, Hisoka! Can I open it?" he asked, halfway through taking the ribbon off. Hisoka nodded sharply. "Ooooh, wow, chocolate! And not just any chocolate, truffles! Thank you!"

Tsuzuki breathed deeply and poked around the box until he selected a truffle that suited his fancy. He took a bite, paused to taste, and melted into his chair with a sigh of ecstasy that made Hisoka's face light up.

"What's the occasion?" Tsuzuki asked, once he had licked the remainder of the chocolate from his fingers.

Hisoka flushed. "It… it's Valentine's Day…" he mumbled, not wanting to have to explain himself.

"Hmmm?" Tsuzuki peered at him with mischief in his eyes. "Hisoka, I'm touched. I didn't know you felt that way about me."

"What about you- no! What are you talking about?!"

"Well, it's _Valentine's Day_. You know… The day of _love_ and _romance_."

"B-But… you're my… my partner…"

"Which is what makes it so cute! Who would have guessed our little Hisoka has a crush on his dashing, manly partner! Well, I guess it's not _that_ surprising…" Tsuzuki preened.

Hisoka stared at him, his mouth agape. "But… but… the obligation chocolate…"

"What do you mean? We've never celebrated Valentine's Day in the office."

"…"

"But what'll become of our partnership, now that I know of your secret love?"

"…"

"Hisoka?"

"SAYA! YUMA! I'M GOING TO KILL YOU!"

Tsuzuki giggled at his scarlet-faced partner.

"Thank you for the chocolate, Hisoka," he cooed and leaned down to kiss Hisoka's cheek.

Hisoka remained incoherent for the rest of the day.


	4. Chapter 4

**Title: Little Worries**

**Characters/Pairing: Tsuzuki/Hisoka**

**Prompt: Hands**

Still giddy from the victory at the archery tournament, the members of Juuou-chou chattered as they headed home to prepare for that night's festivities. Wakaba and Terazuma headed off the party, her long, brown curls bobbing as she walked along, while his eyes were fixed pointedly at the ground. Watari, all smiles and bubbling energy, and Tatsumi, stoic and pristine as always, followed a little ways behind, with Tsuzuki trailing after them. Hisoka stayed out of the way and to the back of the group, seeming determined to remain inconspicuous.

Watari was already looking forward to celebrating. "And Soutei-chou has to buy us all rounds of drinks! Ah, gambling! Gets my blood fired up!"

Tsuzuki turned a smile back on Hisoka, intending to make a joke, as he customarily did when the subject of alcohol came up. But he paused as he noticed Hisoka surreptitiously rubbing his wrist and hung back to walk alongside him.

"How's your hand?" Tsuzuki asked, his voice low, a warm smile on his face. He had felt an uncomfortable twisting sensation in his stomach when he'd heard Hisoka cry out halfway through the tournament, watched him cringe in pain and frustration over his sprained wrist, a result of the ricochet from his bowstring snapping. This worry came back to him now, a protective squeeze on his heart for the frail boy next to him.

Hisoka colored faintly, his hand immediately dropping to his side. "Fine," he replied, clearly affronted by the idea of being coddled.

Deep purple eyes narrowed in a frown.

"Then you won't mind me taking a look at it!" Tsuzuki retorted, disappearing in a flash and reappearing on Hisoka's other side. He reached for his partner's hand.

"I said I'm fi- ah!" Hisoka winced despite how gently Tsuzuki had taken his wrist. Tsuzuki's frown grew more severe. Taking Shinigami healing abilities as they were, sprains took a bit of time to stop hurting. But it wasn't the pain that worried him. What concerned Tsuzuki was how _small_ Hisoka's wrist was. While Tsuzuki's hands were broad and healthy, Hisoka's was just a pale little thing, a delicate composition of bone that made Tsuzuki feel like he was holding something made of glass.

"May I have my hand back?" Hisoka asked, barely reigning in his aggravation. He glanced towards the group, which had proceeded without them and was gradually receding into the cool evening air.

"Hisoka, you should be wearing more," Tsuzuki fretted, reluctantly letting go of his hand. Hisoka immediately hid it in the folds of his coat.

"You should mind your own business."

Tsuzuki pouted, his eyes growing big and watery. "Bu~t, I worry about you," he replied, hovering by Hisoka's side like a dependent puppy. He persisted. "At least get your hand checked out by Watari when we get back!"

Hisoka rolled his eyes. "Whatever."

Grinning, Tsuzuki reached a hand out and ruffled Hisoka's hair. "Hisoka should do as his elders tell him."

"Elders? You mean my like my great-_great_ grandfather?"

"Oh, so I'm _ancient_, huh? About to catch my death of cold?" Tsuzuki pretended to be insulted. "Just promise me you'll warm me up if I do," he finished with a playful wink.

Hisoka flushed soundly and Tsuzuki took that moment to grab his undamaged wrist and tug him along, to catch up with the bubbling laughter of the group.

* * *

**Title: Firsts**

**Characters/Pairing: Tsuzuki/Hisoka**

**Prompt: Growing Up**

Intimacy was difficult for Hisoka. Tsuzuki knew this - many long, painful nights had taught him as much - and he knew going into it that a relationship with Hisoka was going to be challenging. Tsuzuki's scars weren't sexual in nature; he had no problem with physical closeness. But the last thing he wanted to do was rush Hisoka. In spite of any pleasure he got out of their hesitant, exploratory moments together, he had managed to control his impulses and go at his partner's pace. If he hadn't, it would certainly have destroyed them both. One good thing that came with years upon years of life after death: Tsuzuki knew how to wait.

Ten years he had waited.

Hisoka hadn't changed a day in appearance. He still had that same thin, delicate body, that angelic face, those penetrating green eyes. The years showed in his eyes the most. The anguish, the mistrust and hollowness so sharp in his eyes at their first meeting had dulled, replaced with a strength and peace and tenderness only seen by Tsuzuki when they were alone together. They continued to take things slowly, and Tsuzuki was content to let Hisoka decide when he was ready.

Tsuzuki had grown so accustomed to not making assumptions about his partner, Hisoka caught him completely by surprise one night.

"Hisoka, what should we make for dinner?" Tsuzuki asked, cheerfully rifling through boxes and jars of ingredients. He heard the door to the kitchen close with a soft click. No reply followed and Tsuzuki glanced back over his shoulder.

"Hisoka?"

Standing before him in a large, white dress shirt – and _only_ a dress shirt – was Hisoka. He wasn't shaking or faltering, not apologetic. He walked – _slunk_, Tsuzuki corrected himself with a gulp – up to Tsuzuki, green eyes steady and trusting, and leaned up to kiss him. This was _not_ the naïve kiss of a child, and Tsuzuki had to try very hard to make his brain function after he felt Hisoka's tongue caress the inside of his mouth.

"Hi-Hisoka…" Tsuzuki breathed when they finally parted, and he could feel himself blush.

Hisoka smiled, just faintly, and Tsuzuki could feel whatever remained of his older brother complex crumble very quickly. It was as though the creature before him had lost his ethereal, untouchable qualities and was reborn in flesh, becoming more human, more… adult. In an instant, Tsuzuki felt himself relax, finally free of the worry of taking advantage of a fragile youth, and look at Hisoka in a new light.

"Tsuzuki." Hisoka's voice was soft and breathy, and was followed by warm kisses on Tsuzuki's ear, the tantalizing heat of Hisoka's body as he pressed close to Tsuzuki. It took only a moment for Tsuzuki to realize just how enticing Hisoka – no longer the bratty sixteen year old, but the beautiful young man – was.

It was so like Hisoka to take control of the situation by coming on to Tsuzuki instead of the other way around. But Tsuzuki noticed that in the same instance Hisoka was willing acceding his control over the situation. However slight the risk that Tsuzuki would push him away or force him to go faster than he was ready, it was still there, and Hisoka's silent acknowledgement of the give and take of their relationship made Tsuzuki feel happier than he ever had before.

Hisoka _touched_ him then, kissed him with that fierce gentleness that was so contradictory and so perfectly _Hisoka_, and Tsuzuki's thoughts blurred into pleasure, the notion lingering that Hisoka had the power to completely undo him.

It had been worth the wait.

* * *

**Title: Green**

**Characters/Pairing: Tsuzuki/Hisoka**

**Prompt: Eyes**

Hisoka had never really thought about his eyes until one day Tsuzuki commented offhandedly that he thought they were pretty. Of course at the time Hisoka had gruffly deflected the compliment, but he was still thinking about it by the time he went to bed that night.

_Tsuzuki says the weirdest things._

Usually Hisoka only paid attention to his appearance when there was something he needed to cover up – namely, his scars. He _always_ made sure they couldn't be seen, and that ate up most of the time he would have spent fixing his hair or gazing at his reflection or whatever normal people did when they got dressed.

Hisoka never considered himself "pretty." For one thing, it made him sound weak. Pretty meant that he was supposed to get away with looking nice and being incompetent.

Hisoka _absolutely_ never considered himself "beautiful." Beautiful was what _he_ called him, on that endless night filled with blinding pain. Beautiful was torture.

"_Nah, Hisoka definitely has the prettiest eyes in the office."_

Tsuzuki didn't consider him useless. Tsuzuki definitely didn't think of him like Muraki did. Then... why had he said that? Eyes were just eyes. The more he thought about it, the more confused he got. But thinking back on it, he had to admit he liked the way the area around Tsuzuki's eyes crinkled when he really smiled.

* * *

**Title: Force of Habit**

**Characters/Pairing: Tsuzuki/Hisoka**

**Prompt: Hair**

One bad habit of Tsuzuki's was that he loved to ruffle Hisoka's hair. Whether for a job well done or as a comforting sign of affection, he'd do it at least twice, sometimes three times a day. Hisoka always cringed when he saw it coming, but never ended up dodging out of the way. It was inevitable that his personal space was going to be invaded multiple times a day, and he preferred this way to many of the other possibilities.

Still. It made him feel like a kid. Or a pet. That and each hair ruffle usually came with a joke in poor taste.

_"If you get scared, you can sleep with me tonight."_

Stupid. Hisoka blushed just thinking about it. All those years stuck in the office had gone to Tsuzuki's head and... and made him a pervert. Or stole his sense of decency. Or... something. In any case, it was all Tsuzuki's fault.

"Penny for your thoughts!" Tsuzuki grinned at Hisoka from the opposite side of the copy machine.

"You're old," Hisoka replied bluntly and busied himself with the machine.

Tsuzuki looked ready to cry, but recovered instantly. "I may be old, but I've had loads of experience!" he said with a wink and, lowering his voice, added, "Maybe I'll let you in on it when you're a little older."

What followed was a High Winds Level Older Brother Hair Ruffle. He should have seen it coming.

* * *

**Title: Forgiving**

**Characters/Pairing: Tsuzuki/Hisoka**

**Prompt: Repent**

"Hisoka, how can I make it up to you?"

"I said forget about it."

"But I'm really really sorry!"

"It's not the first time, so don't worry about it."

"But I saw your face! It really hurt you!"

"I wouldn't say it _hurt_. I was just taken aback at first."

"..."

"Tsuzuki?"

"I... I want you to trust me."

"... what?"

"Last night... I mean... I don't want to do that to you. You don't deserve it."

"..."

"Hisoka?"

"I... trust you."

"You... really?"

"...Yes. So, look, you really don't have to get so worked up about eating the last slice of cake."


	5. Chapter 5

**Title: Partners**

**Characters/Pairing: Tsuzuki, Hisoka**

**Prompt: Wall**

Hisoka pressed his back up against the low stone wall, breathing heavily. The sliver of moon, high in the velvet black sky, gave only the barest white glow to the wet, mossy stones; there was a rustle of fabric and breathing off beat of Hisoka's rhythm, and he could see the outline of Tsuzuki's face, but none of his features. Tsuzuki was quicker at catching his breath, quieting quickly after slipping in next to Hisoka. Cautiously he peered around the crumbling edge of the wall, a fuda paper held confidently in one hand. Hisoka closed his mouth to minimize the noise he was making, breathing deeply through his nose. His thighs ached from squatting, the night air dipping through his jacket to blow cold wind against his skin. He almost shivered but didn't _want_ to, keeping his eyes focused on that steady hand holding the fuda. He bit his lip.

Tsuzuki turned back to him, an encouraging grin, far too goofy than their situation warranted, plastered on his face. "Caught your breath?" he asked in a neutral whisper.

Hisoka frowned even though his partner's tone wasn't smug or impatient. "I'm _fine_," he snapped.

Tsuzuki placed his hand on Hisoka's shoulder and gave it a quick squeeze. "Watch my back!" he said, his voice halfway between a grin and imploring hope.

* * *

**Title: Ice Sculptures**

**Characters/Pairing: Tsuzuki/Hisoka**

**Prompt: Snow**

Tsuzuki loved winter. Hisoka could tell from the stroke of giddiness coloring his emotions every morning. Most people felt depressed during winter, the lack of sun or whatever. Tsuzuki was always depressed, but it came as a surprise to Hisoka that his mood brightened in winter.

Tsuzuki loved hot chocolate suffocated by whipped cream, curling up by a roaring fire, and making snowmen versions of everyone in Juuou-chou.

Hisoka hated winter. It was dark and long and cold, but most of all winter brought _snow_. Snow was all things unpleasant to Hisoka - wet and cold and lingering. He couldn't understand why Tsuzuki liked winter so much.

"I'm home." Hisoka felt a blast of heated air as he stepped into the apartment he shared with Tsuzuki. He dropped the damp files he'd gone back for on the table just outside the foyer, kicking off his tennis shoes, soaked from trudging through the slush outside.

"Welcome home!" Tsuzuki bounded into view, cheerful and warm. Hisoka unzipped his heavy down jacket and hung it up to dry.

"Files," he grunted, nodding in the direction of the bedraggled folder.

"Thank you, Hisoka!"

Having removed his scarf and gloves, he stepped inside the apartment, flexing his fingers to get his blood circulating again. Tsuzuki caught the movement out of the corner of his eye and shifted closer, enveloping Hisoka's cold, thin hands in his.

"You're freezing," he commented softly.

Hisoka rolled his eyes. "That's an understatement... hm?" Hisoka blinked in bewilderment as Tsuzuki brought his lips to Hisoka's numb fingers. His cheeks, already flushed from cold, turned a darker shade of pink.

"Y-You know, you..." Hisoka sighed, frustrated at his ineloquence. He watched, wide-eyed, as Tsuzuki's lips moved slowly down his wrists. They were warm and soft and the sensation was not altogether unpleasant. Instead of protesting, Hisoka settled on a slightly petulant, "It's cold here."

"Then let's get you warmed up," Tsuzuki murmured against Hisoka's skin. _Did he always have to sound so cheesy?_

In one fluid motion, Tsuzuki scooped Hisoka into his arms and carried him off to the bedroom.

Every place Tsuzuki kissed seared with heat, seeping into Hisoka's bones until he was exhausted beyond his limits. Tsuzuki melted the cold that had frozen Hisoka's skin, the burning warmth of his touch almost unbearable as it poured new life into Hisoka's flesh. Tsuzuki plunged him into fire so extreme he thought he would burst, and soothed him with the calming warmth of familiar skin, the rhythms of a body intimately acquainted with his.

Maybe Hisoka could learn to tolerate winter after all.

* * *

**Title: Splendor**

**Characters/Pairing: Tsuzuki, Hisoka**

**Prompt: Silk**

Tsuzuki was completely unused to splendor, and the frugality characteristic of Tatsumi's rule over Juuou-chou kept it that way. So, much to Hisoka's chagrin, when their luxurious hotel room was revealed, he simply couldn't keep back the squeal of delight or the urge to jump into the bed of silk.

"Hisokaaaaaaa! Silk sheeeeeeeeets!" They were the softest things he had _ever_ felt, and a dark wine color. Tsuzuki rolled about in them, sighing contentedly as he rubbed his cheek against the fabric.

Hisoka gave his partner one of his more dramatic eye rolls. "How you are ever going to pass for a 'wealthy entrepreneur' tonight is beyond me."

Tsuzuki poked his head out from under the sheets and pouted magnificently. "But Hisokaaaaa," he whined, "you look too young for the role... And besides! You got the first class treatment last time, remember?"

Hisoka flopped into an armchair with a wave of his hand. "Just don't pig out at the buffet, okay? You're supposed to have _some_ level of decorum at this thing."

Tsuzuki's eyes shone. "T... There's a buffet?!"

* * *

**Title: New Beginnings**

**Characters/Pairing: Tsuzuki/Hisoka**

**Prompt: Good News**

"Muraki Kazutaka, 33-year-old physician, died in his sleep last night of a sudden heart attack."

It was an ironic death. A fitting death for someone who would have wanted to die violently and yet didn't deserve to get what he asked for. That one clinical sentence reverberated in Hisoka's head all day.

That night in bed, Hisoka cried bitter sobs, rage and frustration at his sheer inability to take control of anything, even his own revenge.

Tsuzuki held him until he was incapable of crying any more; Tsuzuki rested his cheek countless times on soft honey brown hair, gently stroked the sharp lines of shoulder blades, and said nothing. When Hisoka clung tightly to his shirt, begging him in frightened, exhausted whispers to stay, Tsuzuki had only to pull him close and let Hisoka feel through the silence everything he didn't know how to say.

* * *

**Title: Acceptance**

**Characters/Pairing: Tsuzuki/Hisoka**

**Prompt: Broken**

There was one night where Tsuzuki smashed every glass in the apartment. Hisoka found him kneeling on the kitchen floor amidst the innumerable shards of glass, staring insensibly at the cabinets. The knees of Tsuzuki's pants were blotted with red; his eyes were bruised and lined as they looked dispassionately at nothing.

Hisoka drew a breath that settled like iron in his lungs, and slowly approached his partner. His slippers did little to keep the glass from cutting into him; sharp edges poked through as it crunched underfoot, slicing at his soles. It was everywhere – tiny fragments shining in the harsh fluorescent light, larger shards slick with watery blood as they lay in Tsuzuki's limp fingers.

There wasn't much point in pretending the glass didn't hurt as he walked over it, but even so he wouldn't admit to anything until later, when they would silently sweep up the embarrassing remnants of the outburst, spend the next few hours digging tiny pieces from between their toes and wincing, even as the wounds healed.

For now Hisoka limited himself to a grimace that Tsuzuki wouldn't see – because Hisoka could stand it – and held his partner's head as Tsuzuki buried his face in Hisoka's stomach, sobs and meaningless apologies wracking both their bodies.


	6. Chapter 6

**Title: Gifts**

**Characters/Pairing: Tsuzuki/Hisoka**

**Prompt: "Love is the ultimate outlaw. It just won't adhere to any rules. The most any of us can do is sign on as its accomplice."**

Even with the blindfold on, Hisoka could practically _see_ Tsuzuki's ear-to-ear grin, and the amount of giddiness emanating from his partner ought to have been his second warning. The first, of course, should have been the blindfold itself, but Hisoka had given up long ago trying to fight Tsuzuki when he was in one of his Moods.

"Can I take it off yet?"

Tsuzuki's breath was warm against his ear, a giggle catching his voice, "Not yet!"

"Come on, what's the surprise?" Hisoka complained, his hands fumbling for Tsuzuki's side in an attempt to exact revenge through tickling. Rarely did he feel so playful, but Tsuzuki's emotions, like everything else about him, were irresistible. His partner gasped with laughter, squirming away from Hisoka's hands before catching him in an engulfing hug.

"You're beautiful," Tsuzuki murmured, his voice suddenly soft and intimate, lips pressing gently against Hisoka's jaw. Hisoka flushed pink.

"I'd say the same, but I can't see you," he replied, his voice halfway between a joke and a whisper.

The kiss that followed was brief but thorough, the comforting warmth of Tsuzuki's hands against the small of Hisoka's back, holding him close as they drank each other in. There was an audible parting of mouths, and Tsuzuki followed the deep kiss with another quick peck on Hisoka's lips, slipping the blindfold free. Hisoka smiled, a rare, indulgent smile that dimpled one of his cheeks and glowed in his eyes.

Tsuzuki gestured his head towards the kitchen counter, upon which sat a small, brown paper bag. "It's your favorite kind of coffee," he explained, kissing Hisoka once more. "Happy Birthday."

"So that's where you were last night."

Tsuzuki grinned. "But..."

"But?"

"I need you to teach me how to make it."

"Idiot."

* * *

**Title: Family**

**Characters/Pairing: Tsuzuki/Hisoka**

**Prompt: "Love is all fun and games until someone loses and eye or gets pregnant."**

Tsuzuki's kisses were slow and affectionate, and the most effective way of leaving Hisoka completely disarmed when he followed them with unexpected statements.

"I wish we could have kids," was that night's observation.

Hisoka's already flushed cheeks darkened further, and it took him a moment to stop gaping at Tsuzuki enough to reply, "You do realize how completely impossible that is, right?"

"I know," Tsuzuki sulked, nibbling Hisoka's jaw.

"Biologically..."

Tsuzuki perked up a little. "Well, Watari says-"

"And we're both dead," Hisoka interrupted sternly.

"And we're both dead," Tsuzuki agreed with a sigh. The despondence in his voice melted Hisoka's irritation, and the topic was momentarily lost in the kisses that followed, the reality of their ambiguous existence soothed only through their intimacy. The subject of children was one that Hisoka held at a distance; he'd spent his entire afterlife trying to prove _he_ wasn't one, and he'd had no time to consider what his life would have included had he been old enough to see it through. His gut reaction was no, he never would have wanted kids - he'd endured enough at the hands of his own parents that he wouldn't be able to risk doing the same to children of his own. But then, for just a second, he felt that maybe it wouldn't have been so bad if Tsuzuki had been there with him. Tsuzuki would have made a wonderful father, eager to play games and spoil his children. Hisoka would have liked to see that, see Tsuzuki create something so loving, so _right_, to give him a chance to forget about his sins and be happy for once, and give Hisoka a chance to experience what a family should be.

But the only way they could adopt a child would be if a child became a shinigami. And that was a reality neither wanted a part of. The thought hurt, more than Hisoka was expecting, and he held tightly to Tsuzuki, kissing him again and again with increasing ardor, to make him forget about the wishes Hisoka could not grant him.

* * *

**Title: Reaction**

**Characters/Pairing: Tsuzuki/Hisoka**

**Prompt: "To love is to risk not being loved in return. To hope is to risk pain. To try is to risk failure, but risk must be taken because the greatest hazard in life is to risk nothing."**

Hisoka had carefully planned exactly how he was going to confess to Tsuzuki that he was in love with him. They would go to Earth together, ostensibly for a late lunch after finishing a case, but really to get them away from the prying eyes of the office and any unnecessary interruptions. Hisoka would buy Tsuzuki a pastry for dessert, which would make Tsuzuki's eyes light up and Hisoka's heart beat ridiculously loudly. They would walk to a quiet corner of a park, Tsuzuki gobbling up the pastry before they even sat down, crumbs covering his chin. Then Hisoka would say he had something to tell him, and Tsuzuki would probably get worried, and Hisoka would calm him down and tell him that yes, all those times Tsuzuki had wondered if Hisoka was looking at him more often than usual, he _was_, and very gradually ease him into the idea that this awkward, ill-tempered teenager was in love with him. It would take a while, but it would _work_, he was sure, though exactly how it was going to "work" he hadn't quite figured out yet. But there would be no ambiguity, no cause for misinterpretation, no danger of things getting out of hand or blowing up in his face. It was a perfect plan; all he needed was to find the right timing.

When Hisoka _actually_ confessed, he was covered in blood and some remnants he did not wish to identify of the demon they had just beaten, and he was shaking with adrenaline and near tears, and kissing Tsuzuki as hard as he could. Because he couldn't wait for perfect, couldn't wait for safe when the demon was trying to rip Tsuzuki to shreds. He couldn't wait because for the second time he'd almost lost the one person who made him feel like he was worth something, the one person who filled him with such inescapable, overwhelming love. He had no choice and no qualms about abandoning the security of his plan; he knew the moment he saw Tsuzuki's weary but _alive_ smile that he'd already wasted too much time worrying and waiting. There were a thousand ways to misinterpret Hisoka's babbling, half-choked confession, a thousand opportunities for Tsuzuki to write off his feelings as distress, and Hisoka, sobbing with frustration, understood them all, and knew what a far cry this was from the calm, quiet confession of his plans. But risking his pride and his feelings was nothing compared to the risk of losing Tsuzuki forever.

And as it turned out that night, Tsuzuki felt the exact same way.

* * *

**Title: Sharing**

**Characters/Pairing: Tsuzuki/Hisoka**

**Prompt: "Love is more afraid of change than destruction."**

Hisoka glanced around the office and cursed under his breath for the thousandth time. As though to intentionally antagonize him, everyone was sitting at their respective desks, working quietly, without a calamity among them. Never before had Hisoka actually _wanted_ something at Watari's desk to blow up, or for Terazuma to knock over the file cabinets mid-transformation. He wouldn't even have minded Saya and Yuma bursting in if it meant they could distract him from the task at hand. But never before had Hisoka needed to announce something like this.

The night before, he and Tsuzuki had collapsed back on Tsuzuki's bed, exhausted, satiated, and Tsuzuki had started in on a topic he'd returned to countless times since the two of them had first realized their feelings.

"When should we tell everyone?"

Hisoka had said wait, like he did every time, because he didn't want to think about anything but the searing heat of the body against his, the intoxicating effect of Tsuzuki's affection as it flowed into him. Mostly, though, he was afraid. Afraid of the whispered speculation that would follow them around the office - even if it was just in people's thoughts - afraid of the teasing, the advice, the heart wrenchingly painful looks from Tatsumi when he thought they weren't watching. He didn't want to share... _this_, whatever this was he had with Tsuzuki. He didn't want to share the one thing that was his and his alone - because if he did share Tsuzuki, there was a chance that Tsuzuki would decide he didn't need Hisoka after all.

What was wrong with him, that he was ready and willing to die for this man, but couldn't bring himself to tell anyone else that fact? That the thought of things changing, being suddenly _different_ with Tsuzuki terrified him more than the flames that had threatened to devour them both in Kyoto?

But when he caught the disappointment in Tsuzuki's eyes, Hisoka knew he couldn't wait any longer. Because this wasn't just about him - it was also about what Tsuzuki wanted. What Tsuzuki needed. And even though worry was gnawing a hole in Hisoka's stomach as he stood at the front of the office, he knew he had to go through with it, despite the fear and the doubt. It was for Tsuzuki's sake.

"Tsuzuki and I are dating."

* * *

**Title: Confused, Content**

**Characters/Pairing: Tsuzuki/Hisoka**

**Prompt: "Love is like pi - natural, irrational, and very important."**

Tsuzuki drove him insane. Tsuzuki was a never-ending string of contradictions, a full-fledged war exploding in the mind of someone who seemed so _simple_, who could get lost in joy just by eating _apple pie_ for God's sake, but who lay slowly bleeding to death in his own sins. Sometimes Hisoka just wanted to scream and shake him and ask _why_, but he hadn't been driven to _that_ level of drama yet, had he? Maybe in twenty more years.

What left Hisoka gasping for words was how necessary Tsuzuki was in his life. Hisoka's favorite sleeping position was with his forehead nudging Tsuzuki's collarbone; he couldn't watch a movie without Tsuzuki's babbling commentary; his dinners always came out to double portions. He was _incapable_ of unraveling Tsuzuki from the threads of his daily activities.

He didn't want to.

Hisoka would die for him. But Hisoka would die for any one of the friends who had incomprehensibly followed in Tsuzuki's wake. No, what confounded him most about Tsuzuki was that above all Tsuzuki made Hisoka want to live.


	7. Chapter 7

**Title: Overtime**

**Characters/Pairing: Tsuzuki/Hisoka**

**Prompt: Guilty**

Overtime was nothing new to the Kyuushuu shinigami. Even though their area was supposedly quiet, they were usually the last ones to leave the office at night. Of course this wasn't Hisoka's fault; it was like pulling teeth just trying to get Tsuzuki to do _any_ work, no matter how easy or trivial. He had managed to whine all day, eat four pieces of cake at his desk, and wander off to talk to Tatsumi on three separate occasions, but the stack of forms in his in-pile had never been attended to. The office had darkened bit by bit as the other teams signed out for the day, turning off their desk lights, adding to the pools of darkness spreading over the lines of gray desks, until only Hisoka and Tsuzuki's lights remained on. Hisoka, as always, was quietly filling in another form - he had started in on Tsuzuki's pile by this point, with a defeated sigh - while his partner had laid his cheek against the surface of his desk and pouted.

"Hisoka."

Hisoka rolled his eyes at the plaintive tone in Tsuzuki's voice, and responded shortly, "What." It wasn't a question so much as a warning.

Tsuzuki, ever fearless, jutted out his bottom lip. "I'm hungry."

Anyone with less will than Hisoka would have caved immediately at that expression. Hisoka, however, stamped the document he had just finished with an annoyed firmness. "And I'm the one who should be complaining, not you."

"But I can't focus when I'm hungry!"

"That was your excuse when I let you get cake four hours ago. And when you got back, guess what you still didn't do?" Hisoka wished his stamp could make more of an impact. It was harder to emphasize his point this way.

"My paperwork," Tsuzuki mumbled glumly.

"Mmhm." Hisoka took another form from the pile.

"I meant to do it. Honest."

"Mmhm."

"I'm sorry, Hisoka." Tears started welling up in those large purple eyes. Hisoka spared Tsuzuki a glance. Try the Tatsumi approach on him, would he?

"You know, I might believe you felt guilty about it if you were actually _helping_ me get this done."

"Hisokaaaaa..."

* * *

**Title: Compromises**

**Characters/Pairing: Tsuzuki/Hisoka**

**Prompt: Interrupted**

Tsuzuki was a morning person. He always woke up early. He loved to savor the peace of the chilly morning air, loved to linger over his hot mug of coffee and listen to the birds lazily twitter as they awoke. He loved going down to Earth and waiting in line for his favorite pastry shop to open, filling his lungs with the cozy smell of baking bread and sugary glaze. He loved the slow, lilting conversation of the little old lady as she wrapped up his cinnamon buns in brown paper. He loved taking walks by the river and watching the leaves color with the seasons. So even though he always woke up early, Tsuzuki always lost track of time, and inevitably wandered into work an hour or two late.

Hisoka was very much _not_ a morning person. He stayed up late reading, or woke in the middle of the night shaking violently; he tossed and turned and spent many long nights not sleeping, so when his exhausted, eternally youthful body finally _would_ slip into a restless sleep, there was nothing he wanted more than to sustain it for as long as he possibly could. He was always resentful when his alarm clock blared to life, jolting him harshly awake. He always woke up with barely enough time to throw on whatever clothes he could find and run out the door. He was always at his nastiest right before he drank his first mug of Juuohchou's bitter coffee. He was always busy, always in a rush, but never late.

The morning after their first night living together, Hisoka and Tsuzuki fought. While both of them wanted to take this step, neither had been prepared for the interruption in his respective routine. Hisoka's reading late into the night had given Tsuzuki a headache, and Tsuzuki's suggestion of doughnuts at six in the morning had made Hisoka snap at him, burying under the covers for another hour and a half of sleep. They made up before the end of the day, mumbling vague apologies without discussing a way to actually solve the problem. Words were hard for them.

The following morning, Hisoka stirred when he felt something nudging him. That something was Tsuzuki's hand on his shoulder, and his first sight upon waking was large purple eyes and a wide grin.

"Good morning!" Tsuzuki chirped.

"Tsuzuki..." Hisoka groaned, frustration already building. The alarm clock wasn't due to go off for another twenty minutes.

"I was wondering..."

"Tsuzuki, I just want to go back-"

"... if you would let me hold you."

"What?" Hisoka blinked. Tsuzuki gave him a sheepish look.

"I wanted to ask you first."

Hisoka's cheeks colored, but he couldn't think of a reason to refuse. He nodded, and felt Tsuzuki's arms gently encircle his body. He lay against that broad chest, Tsuzuki's heartbeat warm in his ears.

"Thought you were going to want doughnuts again," Hisoka mumbled, the warmth of his partner's body starting to lull him back to sleep.

"It's not the doughnuts that are important," Tsuzuki replied.

"So what is?"

"Savoring things."

"What're you savoring now?"

Tsuzuki pressed a gentle kiss to Hisoka's forehead. "You."

"Idiot."

But the way Tsuzuki was holding him - closely, securely - and the comfortable hum of Tsuzuki's emotions soothed Hisoka's brittle nerves, calming the anxious rush of his morning, easing away the unconscious worries he had about falling into a deep, restful sleep.

Tsuzuki watched the slow rise and fall of Hisoka's chest with every breath he took. His desire to rise and meet the new day was abated by the peace and comfort of the boy asleep in his arms. Tsuzuki carefully reached one arm over to turn off the alarm clock. He wanted to enjoy this moment just a little while longer. Even if it meant they were both late for work.

* * *

**Title: Assumptions**

**Characters/Pairing: Tsuzuki/Hisoka**

**Prompt: Naive**

It's the middle of the night, and Hisoka's new partner has to be five types of naive if he thinks Hisoka can't hear him. He can _feel_ him, even though Tsuzuki doesn't know that - can't know that - an incessant buzz of restless energy pressing in on all sides. Hisoka's eyes may be closed, he may be sprawled on the bed _trying_ to get to sleep, but Tsuzuki isn't even _trying_ to lower his voice, and Hisoka can hear every idiotic word.

"Should I kiss him goodnight?"

Hisoka's stomach churns and it's not from the alcohol. He doesn't know _what_ it's from, only that the thought of Tsuzuki bending down and kissing him, when he doesn't even have the energy to fight back, is making his pulse rush in his throat, the familiar, nagging pain throb in his head. There is something _wrong_, and it's not just his partner being a superior asshole - though that in itself is a whole other problem - but Hisoka doesn't know _what_. He knows Tsuzuki - hell, all of Juuohchou - is a liar and tried to trick him, but as soon as he's done with this case, he's going to ask for a reassignment, because if they think he's willing to be saddled with this _child_ of a shinigami as a partner, they have another thing coming to them.

But then Tsuzuki brushes his fingers against Hisoka's forehead, pushing back his bangs, his touch lingering against his temple. And for an instant he can feel Tsuzuki's emotions as vividly as if they were his own, frustration and worry and a shocking undercurrent of protectiveness, something Hisoka's only tasted from a distance, when he would brush by a family on the street or in a park, but never, never felt directed at himself until this moment. But what surprises him the most is the _exhaustion_ seeping into every thought, every emotion, a weariness so old and painful that for a second Hisoka can't breathe - and then Tsuzuki's hand is gone and he's saying something inane to the chicken and laughing a little, and Hisoka can breathe, but for just a second. For just that one second Hisoka understands that he's the one who's really naive in all of this.

* * *

**Title: State of Mind**

**Characters/Pairing: Tsuzuki/Hisoka**

**Prompt: Feeling Beautiful**

People had always admired Tsuzuki's appearance. A well-toned, slender body. Long, graceful fingers. Dark chestnut hair. Eyes that looked like pieces of amethyst. People had loved to touch him, from Tatsumi wiping crumbs from his cheek to the possessive hugs of Lord Hakushaku to Muraki's lust-driven groping. Tsuzuki had liked to be touched, had craved it, but it had never made him feel better (and had sometimes made him feel worse) about himself.

So when Hisoka took him in, battered and weary on the basement floor, covered in dirt and Muraki's blood and his tears and Hisoka's tears as hell raged around him - _his_ hell, _his_ doing - when Hisoka embraced this wretch of a person, Tsuzuki didn't know what to do. He didn't believe he was allowed to feel so happy, so needed.

And when Hisoka touches him, breaks through the raking nails of nightmares that force them both to their knees, when Hisoka gasps his name and lies curled against his neck every night, when Hisoka embraces the darkest, most horrifying demons that haunt Tsuzuki's eyes, and smiles, that's when Tsuzuki feels beautiful.

* * *

**Title: Hot & Cold**

**Characters/Pairing: Tsuzuki/Hisoka**

**Prompt: Sexual Tension**

Hisoka did not understand why, if not simply to torment the both of them, Tatsumi had sent him and Tsuzuki to the hottest rural town without an air conditioner in all of Kyuushuu. There was a case - or a suspicion of a case - but there was always a case, and why this particular case had to happen in _August_ of all months Hisoka also did not understand, though he was beginning to feel that somehow Tatsumi had to be involved in that too.

Hisoka was content to wallow in his bad mood, sprawled on the tatami by the open door to the garden, futilely attempting to wave the stagnant night air around with a stiff paper fan, planning various forms of painful and drawn-out revenge against Juuohchou's secretary. However it was just as he had thought of the perfect way to steal Tatsumi's glasses when Tsuzuki upended a bucket of ice water over him.

"What the hell was that for?!" Hisoka sputtered, a fierce shiver coursing down his spine.

"I'm sorry, Hisoka!" Tsuzuki gasped, immediately crouching down and fixing Hisoka with a piteously apologetic look. "I was going to make an icy bath because it's so hot, and I thought it would be fun to try, to cool off, but I needed ice and the only place we have ice here is in the refrigerator, but then it started to melt so I thought I should run with it so I could get it to the bath in time but I didn't notice the cushion there, and I tripped, and now you're soaking wet, and I'm sorry!"

Hisoka was about to make a very cutting remark when Tsuzuki started stripping.

"Take my shirt, Hisoka! You're shivering!" he exclaimed, all worry and helpfulness and warm, smooth muscle. Hisoka flushed despite his shivering, trying to force himself to look away as Tsuzuki's perfectly formed upper body was unceremoniously exposed to him.

"D-D-Don't be an idiot," he managed between chattering teeth.

"Then I'll just have to run us a _hot_ bath to get you warmed up again!" Tsuzuki concluded, scooping his young partner into his arms. Hisoka made a sound something like, "waugh!" as he was cradled against that warm, broad chest, the promise of an endless bath with his utterly clueless partner laid before him like a torture sentence.

He was going to _kill_ Tatsumi when they got back.


End file.
